I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Real Joy

This week I'll be using the Russian Lubok Tarot, created and self-published by Eugene Vinitski and Sergey Savchenko. I'll also be drawing from the Marseille Oracle, a deck created and published by Lo Scarabeo with a little booklet written by Isa Donelli. Today's draws are the Nine of Cups and Passion:

Whenever you get an impression of some pleasure, as with any impression, guard yourself from being carried away by it, let it await your action, give yourself a pause.
—Epictetus

A man sits alone at a beautiful table with food and nine full cups. It seems like this fellow has gotten what he wanted - his wishes have materialized. Whether intended or not, he lacks company to share his pleasures with. Beneath the table an angel and a devil compete for his attention. One suggests he distribute a portion of his good fortune with others, and the other demands that it be consumed all by himself. Passion shows a bellows, a tool used to add oxygen to a fire and increase its size. We long for the dopamine release that will bring us momentary pleasure. Yet what the mind hungers for might need to be questioned; we often crave for things that are not always in our best interest. Is there a healthier alternative that would bring us real joy?


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